Thursday, August 07, 2008

This afternoon, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown ordered the Buffalo Police Department to return to listing pertinent information on police reports and make them available to the media, specifically, the Buffalo News.

The News reports:

Key information about city crime -- including the location of incidents -- has been removed from the police computer in recent weeks. Brown said that a member of the Police Department, not at the highest level, had made that decision and that he is now overriding that decision. He did not identify that individual.

The mayor "provided a list of more than a dozen top officers who now will be available for comment. In the recent past, only top brass and a public relations spokesman were allowed to speak to the press," the News states.

Surely, the fact that the Buffalo News came out fighting on the topic made the administration flinch. They used their own ink, their website, plus investigative reporter Jim Heaney did radio appearances on WEDG and WECK. A poll on this website showed that the majority of people thought the Buffalo Police Department were in the wrong.

Interestingly, BPD Spokesperson Mike DeGeorge told me this morning that the police department would not be changing their new standards. Apparently, the mayor decided otherwise.

I said on Reason this morning that I'm really not a Summer Olympics fan. That is true. But I also said the other day that I'm going to try to be a soccer fan. So I went to the web this evening to find out when soccer would be on TV ... and I found a really cool page showing all the Olympic events and when they're on.

Soccer is on right now ... on Universal HD. The US is up on Japan 1-0 with about 15 minutes to play.

This morning on Reason, I will talk with Buffalo Police Spokesperson Mike DeGeorge about the department's new policy on police reports ... I will also talk with Jim Heaney, investigative reporter from the Buffalo News on the same subject.

I won't be able to take calls during the interviews with the two of them, but you're welcome to IM your questions in and I'll ask them if time allows.

About Me

Professionally, I'm a news editor and columnist. I'm also a freelance SEO specialist, public relations consultant, talk show host, and aspiring author. But more importantly than any of that, I have two awesome daughters who I adore.